UK Hoops looking at LSU as a must-win game

Tweet

UK senior center Eleia Roddy has started all 19 of the Cats’ games this year after being plagued with injuries the previous two seasons. Photo by Kristin Sherrard | Staff

When the UK women’s basketball team looks at obstacles to overcome as they fight to become a Southeastern Conference power, few teams loom larger than Louisiana State.

After losing to the Tigers three times last season, including a 66-49 loss that ended the Cats’ SEC tournament run, the Cats will be out for revenge when they host LSU Sunday at Memorial Coliseum. In fact, the Cats (12-7, 2-2 SEC) haven’t beaten LSU since 1999, losing to the Tigers in their last 14 meetings.

Even though the Cats have knocked off several other traditional SEC powers in recent years, including Georgia and Tennessee, a win over the Tigers could provide a much-needed spark for the team in the midst of an otherwise lackluster season.

Senior center Eleia Roddy knows just how big a win on Sunday would be for the program.

“It would be another ‘W’ first of all,” Roddy said. “Then it would be another milestone to overcome. We see it as a grand opportunity to reverse it. We’ve always been able to get one or two great wins every season.”

The results of previous contests don’t seem to faze the Cats, as both UK and the Tigers are filled with young players who are trying to make a name for their team. As a senior, Roddy knows just how much this LSU team has changed from last year’s squad which the Cats ran into in last season’s SEC tournament semifinals.

“Not to take anything away from LSU, because they always recruit some of the best talent in the country, but it’s not the same LSU team,” Roddy said. “I think it’s wide open.”

Another reason the Cats believe this year could be different is the arrival of freshman point guard Crystal Riley. Riley spent last semester with the Tigers in Baton Rouge, La., before transferring to UK at the end of 2008.

Despite being ranked as the No. 11 point guard in the nation and the No. 61 overall prospect in the class of 2008, Riley arrived at LSU as one of seven freshmen and was averaging less than nine minutes per game at the time of her transfer.

Riley declined to state any specific reason for her transfer but did say, “basketball wasn’t working out for me. I wasn’t really being treated fairly.”

She said this meeting with her old team may be one of her most trying times as she waits to take the court for the Cats.

“It’s going to be hard,” Riley said. “I really want to play.”

Riley said she was doing everything she could to help the Cats prepare for the game, including using the knowledge she gained during her time in Baton Rouge. She wouldn’t offer a prediction for the game, but did say she thinks that UK matches up well with LSU.

“(LSU) has a good team. It’s two young teams, UK has a couple of seniors and LSU only has one senior,” Riley said. “We’re going to have to be ready to play. LSU is one of the best defensive teams in the nation, so it’s going to be hard.”